So after three weeks of using the Storm, I think I have a handle on it and can talk intelligently about the pros and cons of the device. Overall, I like the device. RIM has done an outstanding job with their first touch screen model.
I set up the Storm with two email accounts, a gmail account and a separate account I have through GoDaddy. I am using IMAP to access both of these accounts as I have a notebook and a desktop. Using IMAP (compared to POP3) theoretically synchronizes emails across multiple computers so that deletions from one computer are carried forward to other computers. I was hoping that the same would be true for the Blackberry since I no longer access a Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) that would normally reconcile deletions.
The built-in setup wizard recognizes the gmail account and will automatically configure it for POP3 access. However, I wasn’t sure if that would negate the advantages of IMAP that I was hoping to gain. The workaround for this is to disable POP3 via the Gmail web interface. Setting my GoDaddy email was ironically easier since I could manually configure that account to use IMAP.
The Storm automatically set up three icons on my main screen, one for all messages, and one for each of the message services. This is an easy way to organize your messages. I found this much easier than the iPhone’s method of switching back and forth between different email accounts to check all of your email. Of course, eMail is Blackberries bread and butter and as expected, it performed excellently on this front. (Similarly, Apple’s media player is top notch.) My only complaint, and this could be a Verizon or a setting issue, I could not get extremely long news letters to download entirely. They would typically truncate around 64Kb.
The major email down side is that I could never get IMAP to work properly. If I deleted a message from the Storm, it would be deleted from my computers. However messges deleted from my comptuer were never deleted from my Storm. This SHOULD work according to RIM support, but to be honest, I haven’t had the patience to spend time with them on technical support to figure out why it wasn’t working…
Applications also worked mixed. Legacy applications are loaded in what RIM calls a “compatibility mode” that opens the keyboard and leaves it open. This works fine on some applications (such as SquareLoop’s Mobile Alert Network) but not so well with other applications such as REI’s snow report. This is likely due to how well applications stick to standard programing conventions (something we tried to do at SquareLoop). The issue should go away as more applications are written with the new SDK’s that take the Storm into account.
I also like the fact that most applications will turn sideways when the phone is flipped. This can be a drawback when the phone is sitting on a desk or flat surface as there is no way to “lock” the orientation. However, this is much better than the iPhone that only allows you to view items such as email in portrait mode.
While I can type using the portrait keyboard (aka the Pearl keyboard) I found it much more comfortable and faster to use the full landscape keyboard. This is a surprise as I am a former Pearl user. I also found the word guessing very accurate on the Storm for when you do (and you will) fat finger keys. It was a little tricky to select a link on the screen if the link or button was close to the edges, but this may be a fact of my large fingers.
Like all Blackberries, the Storm will run applications in the background making it easy to talk on the phone, look up contacts, read emails, etc. all at the same time. The only thing that you can not do simultaneously is data communication while using voice. This, however, is a limit of the current revision of CDMA that Verizon runs and not necessarily the device itself.
Many people have made a big issue about Apple’s patent on two-finger interface patent. While this is very handy, I did not find the lack of it a major drawback on the Storm. In most cases, tapping the screen will either zoom in or show a toolbar that has a magnify / de-magnify button.
The Storm is missing one key feature that I would like to see added to a future version – WiFi. I really like the ability of the iPhone to switch to WiFi when available to provide faster data throughput (and offload cost to the carrier).
If you are thinking about getting a Storm, now is the time to do so. Verizon Wireless is offering a 2-for-1 Blackberry special for new two year agreements. Well worth the cost if you are in the market!
